The Storm
by HungryPoet
Summary: The Hunters never take prisoners. That was, until the night Rin's town was reduced to ashes by their hands, and her twin brother, Len, captured. With no other leads to her brother's whereabouts, Rin sets her sights on the Hunters, determined to make them pay, and get her brother back. As one twin chases revenge, the other freedom, as his captor begins to unfold a heinous plan...
1. Chapter 1

The whole world glowed a blazing crimson. The air was filled with the roar of the fire and the screams of the hunted, and the Hunters were the loudest of all. Their triumphant yelling was overpowered by the hollow shrieks of the beasts they rode, and they dragged in their wake a symphony of destruction.

The town was lost. This small village, accustomed to a fairly peaceful life, never stood a chance against the Hunters' raid. By then the whole town was ablaze, the houses already pillaged and most of the people slaughtered. Now they ran rampant, destroying what little was left, hunting down the last terrified survivors.

Among the few unfortunate souls left alive still, a pair of children crouched, huddled behind a pile of charred wood which had once been part of a house. They were twins, no older than twelve years, a fraternal pair of a boy and a girl. They had light skin, large, cobalt-blue eyes, and soft, golden-blonde hair which shone even in the flickering red glow of the fire all around them. Their own parents were alre4dy dead, murdered when the Hunters burned down their house, but the children had survived, barely, hiding from the Hunters and escaping before they were swallowed by the fire.

They were too young to have to witness such terrible events, but they would not die yet. They'd made it thus far on nothing more than quick-thinking and their stubborn determination to survive. They were terrified, yes, but at least they were together. They felt a sort of instinctive responsibility for each other, and as long as the other was alive, they forced back the shock and fear and grief. There would be time for tears later, they knew, as long as they made it out of this ordeal alive.

They were the only ones left now. The screams in the distance had all faded out, with only the steady crackle of the fire and the yells of the Hunters. They gripped each other's hands tightly, their only comfort amid this chaos. They couldn't stay here. The fire had already died down in this area, but the settling wood around them was ready to collapse, and if they weren't crushed by the falling debris, they'd be found by the Hunters if they stayed still too long. They had to move.

Slowly, as quietly as possible, they got to their feet, scanning the area as they thought of where they could run.

"The forest, Rin," The younger of the pair, a boy by the name of Len, murmured softly, pointing to an opening in the wood which lead out of the rubble of the destroyed house. "The brush would give us cover, and it's not too far from here."

Rin frowned slightly. "But the next town is the other way," she whispered, pointing to the direction opposite where Len had.

"That town is bigger than ours was," Len replied in a quiet tone. "If they haven't already destroyed that town, then they'll surely go there next. Plus the way there is through farmland. If we went that way, we'd be easier to spot."

After a moment, Rin nodded in agreement, and they went the way Len had suggested. Rin, being the more athletic of the two, went first, pushing charred planks of wood out of the way as she went, while still trying not to make too much noise. Once they were out of the building, or what was left of it, they crept along the dark alley behind the ruined buildings, still gripping each other's hands tightly.

A loud crash up ahead, plus loud pounding footsteps alerted them to an approaching Hunter. Quickly, Len pulled them both down, huddling behind an old barrel. Ahead, they could hear the Hunter, riding one of the monstrous beasts that Hunters were known for commanding, as he passed the alley slowly, searching for victims, no doubt. Not even daring to breath, the twins listened with building fear as the Hunter paused, staring down the alley, then eventually kept on moving.

Once he could be heard no more, Rin and Len got to their feet quickly, moving down the alley quickly. It opened up to a street at the end, and with a quick look to make sure it was empty, they ran across to the cover of the next alley.

The buildings here were still largely ablaze, and though the walls here were brick, the heat and the crackle of the fire made them anxious. They stayed to one side of the alley, walking quickly, when they heard a loud creak come from the wall across from them.

The creak dragged on, followed by a crash and the sound of crumbling stone, and the twins sped up, not waiting to see what it was. A moment later, the wall behind them crumbled, and a Hunter burst through the newly made hole, laughing maniacally amid the blazing fire. Immediately, Rin was pulling her brother down the alley at top speed, but they'd already been spotted, and the Hunter gave chase. As the twins burst from the alley, they ran in front of another Hunter, and the one chasing them crashed into the new one, buying the children more time as they ducked behind another building, and behind that, the forest.

The thick cover of trees and bushes hid them from sight, but the Hunters were still chasing, not wanting to lose their prey. The twins kept running, looking everywhere for some place to hide, but nothing came to sight. Behind them, the crashing sounds of their pursuers grew steadily louder.

They came to a place where the ground dipped down suddenly, and they ran along the top, careful not to fall. But then a Hunter broke through the brush to their side, and Rin jumped down, Len stumbling after her. Gaining momentum as they went, they couldn't stop when the ground stopped completely, and several feet below ran a river, not very wide, but very deep. They couldn't stop, so they jumped, rolling to the ground at the other end. Scrambling to their feet, they kept running, changing direction to follow the river, keeping low so as not to be seen.

A thunderous roar echoed behind them, followed by the sounds of an enraged Hunter and beast tearing apart the forest as they chased after the two children who'd escaped their sight. Ahead of them, the forest opened up into a large lake. Nowhere to go but back. However, there was no room for that, either, as the Hunter that had first started the chase finally caught up, rage blazing in his eyes.

The Hunter reared up on his beast, ready to attack, and in a split second consideration, Rin pushed Len out of the way, letting the beast's claws slash across her back.

"Rin!" Len cried, as his twin fell to the ground, unconscious. The Hunter reached down to grab her, lifting her up by her blood-soaked shirt. He laughed darkly, and with one strong motion, threw the girl far into the lake. Len watched in horror as his twin sunk below the surface of the water, and then his attention was stolen by the beast now standing before him.

Len had never seen one of the monsters that Hunters rode close up before, and now that he could, he felt even more afraid of them. Larger than a horse and built like an ox, it's obsidian fur matted with blood. Large white horns twisted out on each side of its head, and it's snarling face bared not two, but five sneering, blood-red eyes. A deep growled rolled from the beast's mouth, and it reared up at it's master's command, lifting its massive clawed paws, as Len could only watch in shock.

The Hunter was stopped abruptly, however, by a loud blast, that tore through the side of the beast's face. The beast let out a howl, backing up in distress as blood as black as the beast itself spilled from its wounded head. Several feet behind Len stood a man, brandishing a large firearm, smoke drifting from the barrel. The Hunter scowled, glaring at the man, then after a moment, rode away back into the forest.

Trembling, Len stared up at the man who'd driven off the Hunter, eyes wide. "Wh-who are you...?" He stammered, his voice catching in his throat.

The man stared down at him coldly, no trace of emotion in his broad face or his dark, hard eyes. He put away his weapon, and walked towards the small blonde boy slowly. Something in those eyes made Len fear the man almost as much as the Hunter, and he wanted to back away, but the shock he was in wouldn't allow him to move.

Without a word, the man grabbed Len, picking him up and carrying the boy under his arm, ignoring the child's protests. He carried the boy along the edge of the lake, to a place where a large boat had been anchored, and boarded the ship with the child —but he was no savior. The life Len would be forced to live from here on out would be one of a slave, and in time, he'd come to resent the man who'd saved him from death at the hands of the Hunters, more than the Hunters who'd robbed him of the twin he'd cared for so dearly.

But his twin was not dead.

Rin came to as she sank within the depths of the cold water, in terrible pain, her vision clouded by her own blood, but not dead. When she regained consciousness, that never-wavering determination sparked back into life again. She swam to the surface, her lungs burning, half-filled with water, and she gasped for breath, coughing. Her head throbbed and her body ached, but she forced herself to swim to shore. She wouldn't give up here. She needed to make sure Len was okay.

She dragged herself onto the muddy grass, coughing up water. After a minute, she got to her feet slowly, looking around for any sign of her twin, fearing the worst. She'd hoped he'd be safe, feared he'd be dead, but instead he was simply... gone. It was possibly the worst thing she could have imagined. Even if he'd been dead, she could have given him a proper funeral, cried over him, and eventually moved on, as people tended to do. And if he'd been alive, even better! Instead he seemed to have disappeared without a trace. Len would never have left without Rin, so where was he? There was no blood on the ground besides her own. Did that mean he wasn't dead? Had the Hunters kidnapped him, instead of killing him? Why would they do that? She didn't know, but as long as there was the slightest chance Len was alive, her body wouldn't let her grieve over him, and she couldn't let it go. He was her only family left. She _had_ to know what had become of him, especially because if he _was_ alive, he could quite possibly be suffering an even worse fate.

So instead of sadness, as others might have felt in such a situation, her heart burned with anger. This was all because of the Hunters. She couldn't forgive anyone who'd harm her twin, whatever they'd done to him. She _would_ make them pay. And maybe, in chasing down the Hunters, she'd learn of her brother's fate, too.

With this in mind, she trudged back through the forest, into her old town. All was eerily silent, even the fire dying down, the air full of ash, the ground littered with bodies. Though the sight of all her old neighbors lying dead at her feet made her feel deep remorse, none of them were the body she was searching for, so she passed them all with hardly a second glance. She searched through the debris of the houses for something to stop the blood dripping from her back, until finally she stumbled across a salvaged chest, buried under wood and ash and charcoal, but the contents of the trunk, clean, folded clothes, were completely untouched.

Discarding her own bloody, soot-covered clothes, she took a new set of clothes from the chest, but not before taking one shirt, far too large for her, and tearing it up, wrapping it around her torso to close the wound as best as she could. It wasn't perfect, but it'd last her until she could make it to the closest town. She just hoped Len hadn't been right about it being destroyed as well.

There was nothing left of this town. Everyone was dead, but Rin didn't have time to mourn them all. She was determined to find Len, or at least whatever would be left of him. So with one final look cast upon the ruins of this village, she embarked on her journey, onto the next town.

 **~oOo~**

"Mikuo! Can you go get some onions from the market?" A teenage girl called, leaning out a flower-filled window sill. Her long teal hair and eyes were matched by those of her brother, Mikuo. She was fourteen, and he was seventeen, and currently sitting idly in their backyard garden, drawing people and animals that came into sight of the yard. She was in the kitchen, making lunch for them both and their father, who would be coming home from his job in the forge for his break soon.

Mikuo looked up at his sister, named Miku, and put aside his sketchbook. "Sure. How many?"

Mikuo considered it for a moment. "Two yellow, and a leek. Here's the money for it," She held her hand out the window, and Mikuo took the money she handed him. "Thanks a bunch."

"No problem," he said, waving as he walked out the fence gate.

It was a short walk to the market stall where you could buy onions, but today the whole town seemed to be stirring with some dreadful topic. All around there were people hanging their heads, gasping, whispering in somber tones. While Mikuo himself wasn't the type to pay attention to gossip, he couldn't help picking up bits and pieces of what the townsfolk were saying.

"Isn't it just terrible—"

"—Had relatives there—"

"No one left, they said—"

As the boy reached the stall he was looking for, even there, the shop keeper was speaking to a friend. The elderly woman seemed to be comforting her friend. Not wanting to bother them, Mikuo took his time picking the onions he'd been sent to collect, then waited patiently for the other woman to depart.

"Good evening, Mikuo," the shopkeeper said, smiling softly. "Helping out your sister today, hmm?"

Politely, Mikuo nodded, handing the woman the money required. "What's everyone talking about? Everyone seems to be upset..."

"You haven't heard?" The woman raised an eyebrow. "Well, the word just got out today, I suppose."

"Something bad happened, right?" Mikuo asked, concerned.

Sighing, the kind old woman said. "The neighboring village was attacked. Some men were out hunting just this morning, but when they reached the edge of the town next to ours, it had been reduced to ashes. It doesn't seem there was any survivors."

"Attacked?! By whom?" Mikuo asked, shocked. He'd never really cared about the smaller town, but since it wasn't too far, trade between the two had been fairly common. Many of the people in this town visited every once in a while, and some had relatives over there.

The woman looked at Mikuo with a dark look. "Surely even you've heard of the Hunters?"

Mikuo's eyes went wide. "The group of bandits who ride those huge beasts found up in the mountains? I thought that was just a rumor!"

"No, the Hunters are real," the woman assured him. "They're unpredictable, and very dangerous. They completely destroyed that town. I'm just glad we've been spared somehow."

"And there's really no one left?"

The woman shook her head. "The men who'd been hunting checked all the houses—or what was left of them. There wasn't a soul left alive. If anyone survived, then they're gone now."

"I... see. Well, thank you," Mikuo said, turning to leave. Miku was waiting on him.

"You take care, dear," The woman called, as Mikuo headed off into the crowd.

It was busy as ever, people bustling around to do errands, or make it home for noon. But among all the people, one scene caught Mikuo's attention amid the crowd. At one stall, where a middle-aged man sold fruit, there was a girl, hiding among the shadows. She had a sneaky, guilty expression, as she scanned around her, and tried to grab a fruit when the stall vendor wasn't looking. The gesture wasn't missed by the sharp-witted man, though, and the next moment he'd grabbed the girl by the wrist, twisting her arm. He said something angrily, and the girl, though small, shouted something back defiantly, which made the vendor madder.

"Hey, hey, what's going on?" Mikuo said, walking up to the two before he even thought about it. The vendor looked up at him, irate.

"This little brat was trying to lift an apple off me without paying!" The man growled, twisting the girl's arm some more.

The girl winced, gritting her teeth. "Let me go, you dumb old man!"

Glaring at the kid, the man was about to yell something back, but Mikuo quickly said, "Hey, how about I pay for her? I'll handle her, okay?"

The vendor stared at him skeptically, still rather angry, but Mikuo pulled the girl from his grip, handing him the appropriate amount of money. "Here, don't sweat it, really. Sorry to have bothered you."

With that, Mikuo dragged the girl away from the stall, into a place where it was less crowded, then he turned to look at her. "What were you thinking? You know you can't just take things that aren't yours! If you want an apple, you have to pay!"

The girl set her jaw, glaring up at the older boy. "Well I don't have money, okay?!"

"Then get some from your parents!"

"I don't have parents, either!"

Mikuo blinked, staring down at the girl. She was a thin, blonde girl, who couldn't have been older than eleven or twelve. Upon further inspection, her hair was rather dirty, and none her clothes seemed to fit her quite right. There was an orphanage in this town run by nuns, but none of the kids from there ever looked like _this_.

After a moment of considering the girl, Mikuo said, "...You're not from here, are you?"

"What of it?" The girl asked fiercely, balling her hands up into fists.

"Where'd you come from, then?" Mikuo asked, curious.

Glaring at the ground, she muttered, "...The town over."

Mikuo's eyes went wide. "You mean the one-"

"The one that was destroyed, yeah!" The girl snapped, scowling. "By the Hunters!"

Mikuo put his hands up, trying to get her to quiet down. "Hey, keep it down! If you go around yelling that, you'll send everyone into a panic."

The girl didn't seem to care, as she yelled, "Who cares?! I'm gonna beat them anyway, and then they won't bother anyone!"

Mikuo snorted, raising an eyebrow. "You? Not like that you aren't."

"I will! I'll take them down!"

"Sure," Mikuo said, rolling his eyes. He tossed the girl the apple he'd bought because of her. "Anyway, here. You don't have any home now, right? Come on, you may as well come with me."

"Who says I need your help?!" The girl shot, too proud for her own good.

Mikuo looked at her with an eyebrow raised again. "You don't need to say anything. There's no way a kid who can't even swipe an apple from a stall without being spotted can survive without any family. Besides, that apple ain't gonna be very filling. Lunch is almost ready at home."

The child scowled at her feet, holding the apple tightly. "...Fine."

"Then come along," Mikuo said, waving his arm as a gesture to follow. "So what's your name?"

"...Rin," the girl muttered, trailing just a little behind the teenager. "Rin Kagamine."

"I'm Mikuo Hatsune," Mikuo said, walking down the street briskly. He'd taken far longer to buy Miku's onions than he'd meant to, and she'd probably be getting pretty impatient by now. "How long have you been on your own for?"

"...Two days," Rin muttered, still staring at the red fruit in her hands, but not eating it. She must've been terribly hungry, but perhaps she wanted to save it for her meal.

"And how old are you?"

"Twelve."

Mikuo glanced at the blonde girl. She was small, but her pride let her carry herself as if she wasn't, and her very core seemed to burn like fire, with a stubborn determination that told Mikuo this girl wasn't the type to make idle threats. If she said she'd ruin the Hunters, she'd likely do it or die trying. "What's a kid like you doing plotting revenge? Most kids would just be scared in your position, or at least be glad they're alive."

Rin's face twisted up into a painful look, full of hurt and hate and loneliness. "...They took my brother." Then the fire was back, and she looked up at Mikuo fiercely. "I have to find him! He's the only family I have left now, and I won't let them take him!"

"Taken, you say? I didn't think the Hunters were the kind to take prisoners. I'd heard they just slaughtered everyone," Mikuo said slowly, watching for Rin's reaction.

"Well they took him! He wasn't there, there wasn't even any blood, so they must have!"

"Well, if they did take him, which I doubt," Mikuo said, staring at the girl seriously. "He's probably dead by now."

Rin glowered at the ground, saying through gritted teeth, "...I know that. He may be dead, but I don't care! As long as there's a chance he's alive, I'm gonna find him! And I'll make the Hunters pay for ever taking him!"

Mikuo sighed. Clearly she wasn't to be dissuaded easily, but then again, he'd likely feel the same if his own sister was kidnapped. At least, if he couldn't stop her, he could make sure she didn't get herself killed right away.

Miku was waiting for him when he got back. She was standing in the open doorway, tapping her foot against the ground and her finger against her forearm, clearly annoyed. When she saw her brother, she likely would have asked him how in the world it took him a half an hour to pick up three onions, had she not seen the small, raggedy-looking girl following him silently. Instead her annoyance changed to confusion, and she looked up at Mikuo questioningly.

"Who's this?" Miku asked, gesturing to the girl.

"A guest," Mikuo said, hoping this would go down well. "You don't mind having an extra member for lunch, do you?"

Miku frowned, confused. "No... But who is she? And where'd she come from?"

Mikuo nudged Rin, and she stuck out her jaw, saying roughly, "My name is Rin."

"I'm Miku," said the teal-haired girl, still rather bemused. "Come in, sit down. Lunch will be done once I add in these last vegetables."

Mikuo handed his sister the onions he'd bought at the market. "Sorry I took so long." He washed his hands, helping Miku by chopping up one of the onions. "Have you heard what happened in the neighboring town?"

"The rumors about the Hunters? Sure," Miku said, shrugging, as she stirred her stew, adding vegetables and spices.

"Well, that girl is from the town that was destroyed," Mikuo said softly. "She doesn't have any family now except a brother who apparently was kidnapped by the Hunters, and she seems absolutely hell-bent on chasing them down."

"You're kidding!" Miku said in disbelief.

Mikuo shook his head. "Just look at the state she's in. She's not from here, that's for sure. Where else could she have come from on her own?"

Miku pursed her lips. "Well... that's true," she admitted. "So what are we gonna do? Send her off to the orphanage?"

"Well..." Mikuo said slowly, shrugging his shoulders. Miku looked at him incredulously.

"What? You're not thinking that we could take care of her, are you? No, absolutely not!"

"Come, on, Miku! You _know_ what'll happen if we send her to the orphanage. A stubborn, one-track minded kid like her would probably run off the first chance she got, and end up getting herself killed!"

Miku looked at her brother sternly. "Listen, Mikuo, things are fine now, but that's only because Daddy's good at his job, and we're careful with our money. One extra person to take care of could seriously stretch our money. Besides, what do you think we'll be able to do for her? Stop her? If she's really so stubborn, she'll go no matter what you do."

"I know we can't stop her," Mikuo said, sighing. "But we could at least prepare her, more than a bunch of nuns ever could."

"And _how_ do you propose we do that?"

"We could teach her how to make money, so she doesn't get in trouble trying to shoplift again-"

Miku raised an eyebrow. "She was doing _what?!_ "

Mikuo waved his hand impatiently. "Whatever, that's already done. She was scolded by both the shopkeeper and me, so I don't think she'll try it again. She only did it because she didn't have any money. And that's why she needs to learn how to make money! Then she wouldn't need to steal, right?"

Miku pursed her lips, but eventually nodded.

"And we could help her get strong, so she actually has a fighting chance," Mikuo added. "She could help with chores."

"Mikuo, I said we can't!" Miku said, frowning.

"Why don't we just ask Dad?" Mikuo insisted.

"Ask me what?" The arguing siblings turned in surprise to see their father standing in the doorway, looking rather puzzled. "What's the problem, you two?"

"Dad!" Mikuo said, surprised.

"Daddy, listen to this! Mikuo wants to-" Miku began, but their father put up his hand, smiling.

"Hold on, the talk can wait," He said calmly, looking at where the blonde girl was sitting quietly at the table. He walked up to her, smiling kindly. "And who might you be?"

Rin looked down at her lap, frowning stubbornly. "It's Rin. Rin Kagamine."

"My name is Kaito, Rin. I'm the father of those two," he gestured to Miku and Mikuo. "I see you're joining us for lunch?"

Oddly shy, Rin nodded quietly.

Serving the now-ready stew in a bowl to her father, Miku said, "But Daddy, listen! Mikuo wants us to take care of her!"

"It'd be better than sending her off to the orphanage!" Mikuo countered.

Skillfully ignoring his children's bickering, Kaito turned to Rin. "You don't have any parents?"

Rin shook her head. "They were killed by the Hunters."

"That's terrible," Kaito said, as Miku put down a bowl of soup for the young girl.

Rin frowned determinedly. "Yeah, but what's worse is that they took my twin! I have to find him!"

"See?" Mikuo said pointedly, more to Miku than anyone else. "She wants to chase down the Hunters! Those namby-pamby nuns won't help her at all with that! They'd just let her go off without a care!"

"So you have a twin, eh? Do you really plan to find the Hunters, then?"

Rin nodded quickly. "I have to know what happened to him! Even if he's... already dead... I have to know! I'll make the Hunters pay for taking him!"

"That's a ridiculous idea!" Miku declared. "And if she wants to go on her suicide mission, then we can't do anything to stop her!"

"It'd be terrible if we let her go without preparing her somehow! That's like leaving her to die!" Mikuo countered.

Kaito smiled at Rin. "You have determination, I see. You'll go far with that sort of fire in your heart. But the way you are, you wouldn't be able to do very much. If you're going to go out on your own, you'll need to know how to make money, and cook food, and you'll need to know how to fight, of course! And it just so happens that I myself am a blacksmith."

Rin looked up in interest. "You make weapons?"

"And tools, too. But yes, I work with metal. The Hunters use swords, and of course they have those beasts they ride. Surely you weren't planning on taking them on bare-handed?"

Rin blushed, looking at her toes.

"Well, how about this? I'll make you a weapon," Kaito offered. "But, there's one problem. Weapons aren't cheap, you see? So how about we make a deal: You stay here and work for, say, two or so years, to pay off the money required for the weapon. And while you're here, you can learn and train and become strong. Does that sound like a plan?"

"But Daddy!" Miku protested. "We don't have that sort of money!"

"If she's working, then it won't be a problem," Kaito said, then to Rin. "It wouldn't be easy, but we'd be here to help you. What do you say, Rin?"

Rin hardly needed to consider it. He'd had her at the offer to make her a weapon. "Y-yes, please!" She said eagerly. "I'll work hard!"

Kaito smiled. "That's the spirit! Now, eat up! We gotta get some meat on you!"

Miku sighed, sitting down with her bowl last. "Well, I guess that's that. I take it I'll be the one to teach her how to cook?"

"Much appreciated," Kaito replied. "And since this was Mikuo's idea, you're going to help her learn how to fight."

"Yes, sir," Mikuo responded, grinning. "I kind of expected as much anyway."

"But that can all wait for tomorrow," Kaito said. "I'm sure you must be tired. And hungry!" Kaito laughed, as Rin scarfed down her food quickly. "Miku, could you take Rin to town today to buy her some better-fitting clothes than those? She'll likely need a bath, too."

"Alright, then," Miku agreed.

"Good! And since you'll be living with us for the next two years, why don't you tell us a little more about yourself?" Kaito suggested.

Rin blushed, then smiled. The blonde girl spent the rest of the meal laughing and chatting with her new family, and though the carnage of her old town was still fresh in her memory, and plans to take down the Hunters simmered in the back of her mind, things were all right. Even without her twin whom she loved so dearly by her side, for now, she was at ease. The storm was yet to come.


	2. Chapter 2

In a distant region, atop a forested hill, away from the sight of the residents of the large city that it looked over, stood a grand mansion. The mansion had existed for generations, improved and maintained over the years, yet the owner of the mansion had only owned it for about three years. This man went by the name of Gakupo Kamui. He was a strange man: long purple hair and eyes, of indeterminate age and background. No one knew where he came from, or how he came to accumulate such a fortune, or the extravagant manor, but whispered rumors told that he earned it all through underhanded tactics. No one knew for sure, though. Very little was known of him. Even those who served him knew little, and many didn't want to know.

He was a powerful man. No one in the entire region dared openly speak against him, and rumor went even the infamous Hunters left him alone. He always carried around a large, heavy gun, like a customized shotgun, powerful enough to shatter a skull, and rumor went that many a life had been taken by a shot from that gun. But again, no one knew for sure.

On that day, the infamous man of power was returning from a week-long trip, which he'd left on without a single warning to his servants. On his own private boat, he'd sailed off, and on that day that boat would finally return home, but with a new passenger. A young boy, only twelve years of age, having his whole world destroyed by the Hunters, was then saved by Gakupo, but only so that Gakupo could capture the boy himself. The boy couldn't refuse, for he had no choice, and he was not strong enough to escape the grip of the powerful man.

This boy was, of course, Len Kagamine, who believed his twin to be dead, after witnessing her unconscious, wounded form thrown into a lake by a Hunter. He didn't have the sort of fire inside that his twin did; on the contrary, after watching his hometown go down in flames, he would fear fire for a long time to come. Over the loss of his sister, he wept bitterly, unaware that she was alive, and would commit the next two years of her life to gaining the strength to find him. However, though he'd no hope that Rin would be okay, he didn't lose hope completely. He shared in his sister's pride, and pride wouldn't allow him to cry for too long, and it most certainly wouldn't allow him to become someone's prisoner without a fight.

Len knew he couldn't possibly fight this man, who'd single-handedly driven off a Hunter, but that wasn't the only way to escape. He looked around, trying to take in as much information as possible, while still yelling at his kidnapper.

"Let me go! What do you want with me?!" He yelled. The path from the water's edge, where Gakupo had anchored the boat, to the great manor which loomed at the top of the hill, went through the forest. He couldn't escape now. Though the foliage was thick, and would've hidden him well, the large hand locked around his wrist, dragging him up the path after Gakupo, would definitely not allow him to break free. Plus, he was almost positive that a man of Gakupo's height and strength would be much faster than a small, somewhat clumsy twelve-year boy; he had absolutely no idea where he was, and frankly he'd had quite enough of running and hiding in the woods. He had to wait for an opportunity when Gakupo would release him.

"I hope you're not thinking about escaping," Gakupo said , eyeing the boy with a sinister look. "The only way you'll ever leave this place is in a body bag."

"W-what do you want me for, anyway?!" Len demanded, trying to keep the fear from his expression, but Gakupo could still see it flicker in the boy's ice-blue eyes. He was terrified, and rightfully so.

"You'll find out soon enough," Gakupo said, tugging on Len's arm to get him to speed up. Eventually they came to a thick metal door with a lock on it—a back door, Len assumed. Gakupo reached into his pocket and fished out a key, and unlocked the door, without releasing Len's wrist even once, to the blonde boy's dismay.

Pushing Len inside before him, Gakupo walked through the door, and standing guard on either side of the door was a pair of armed guards. Smart, Len supposed. If the guards were left to guard the door from the outside, they could be taken down by anyone who was stronger or cleverer than them, or at least had more allies on hand, and they'd be worn down by the elements, too. This way, even if someone managed to break through the door, they'd be caught off-guard by the guards waiting inside, and they'd also be able to better guard against those who wanted to break out, like Len. It was probably safe to assume there was guards positioned at the inside of every door. It also wasn't a long shot to guess more people tried to break out than in.

The guards didn't ask questions as he dragged the blonde child down the hall. Those who asked questions in this mansion never lasted very long. With his captive in tow, Gakupo marched down the hall, as Len looked around. Marble floors, stone walls adorned with tapestries and paintings and other extravagances Len didn't care for. Candles burned in their golden holders fixed to the walls every ten paces or so, causing the hall to burn with a golden, somewhat ominous light. Len avoided looking at the candles.

There was one door, on the left side of this hall. As they passed the open door, Len looked inside to see people bustling around in what appeared to be a kitchen, but he was quickly pulled past that. At the end of the hall it split into two opposite directions, and Gakupo took Len down the left passage. Here the walls were wooden; likely interior walls. Len passed five doors here, two on his left and three to his right, but all were closed from Len's sight. They eventually reached a door at the end of the hall, which opened to reveal a stone staircase, shaped in a spiral, leading down.

Down the stairs they went, the candlelight flickering all around them and casting frightful shadows as the way grew darker and darker. At the bottom of the stairs, stretched out another hall, now stone again. Here it was much darker, and colder, with no decorations, and Len was almost positive this was a dungeon.

On each side of the hall there was five or so metal doors that looked like cell doors, each with small windows positioned roughly at eye-level for an average-height man, covered with a metal grate so no one could reach through them. From where he was, he couldn't see through any of them. This hall was oddly empty; Len had expected guards to be placed here of all places, but there were none.

Down the hall Gakupo took Len, to the last door on the right side of the hall. Len watched the purple-haired man unlock the door, and realized why there were no guards here: The doors could only be opened from one side. The other side of the door had no handle, no lock, while the side Gakupo had opened the door from had two locks: one key lock, and a bolt. You'd have to break down the door to escape from here. Len prayed desperately he wouldn't be locked down here.

Inside the cell Gakupo opened, though, there was already a prisoner: a woman, around the age Len's mother had been before she died, but with long, light pink hair. She was chained to the wall by her wrists and torso, wearing a plain white dress that looked more like a dirty piece of cloth had been wrapped around the lady's body and arms than proper clothing.

Gakupo pushed Len in front of him, holding his arm tightly, grinning as if he was carrying a trophy. "Is this the one you told me about?"

The woman looked up at the small blonde boy with tired, grey-blue eyes, and sighed. "Yes," she said, and she sounded almost remorseful about it.

"Then I can use him, correct? He doesn't look like much," Gakupo said, staring down at Len with a look of scrutiny, like he was trying to find a reason to let Len live, a look which made Len shudder.

"He will do," the pink-haired woman replied dolefully. "And he is still young, so he will become even stronger with age."

"Excellent," Gakupo said, grinning as he squeezed Len's wrist so hard it hurt. "You've done well, Luka. I'll be back to deal with you later." With those words he was back out the door with his blonde captive in tow, locking the woman's cell once more. To Len's immense relief, he wasn't thrown in his own cell down here. Instead he was dragged back down the cold stone passage, up the stairs, down the hallway, past the hall they'd first come in from—Len could see the door at the end of the hallway, with the guards still standing on either side of it—and down the way Len had not yet seen.

The whole hall opened up, and Len realized they were in a main hall of sorts, and far ahead to the left, there was a pair of huge ornate double doors, likely the front door. Unsurprisingly, a pair of guards stood on either side—not that Len would have been able to open such heavy doors on his own anyway. They'd come from a passage under a grand set of stairs which lead to an open walking place on the second floor. Across from where they came out, there was another space under the stairs there, but a closed door kept him from seeing inside.

Gakupo pulled him up the stairs on the right, up to the balcony. On the right side, there was a wooden door, which Gakupo opened, ushering Len through. Another hallway, though this one much shorter. There was only three doors here besides the one they'd come through: one on the left of the hall, one on the right, and one at the end.

It was the door on the right that Gakupo opened, and inside there was a small room. There was a bed, and bookshelves, and a dresser, and Len might have thought it a regular room if not for the metal pole standing right in the middle of the room, with a long chain attached.

Gakupo grabbed Len by the collar of his shirt, dragging him over to the pole and chain, and picking up the chain. At one end of the chain there was a thick metal ring, attached to the pole, so that the chain wouldn't get twisted around the pole while moving, and the other end held what looked like a ring that had been split in half, but could open and close on one end that was connected by hinges. The whole thing was covered in an inscription of some kind that Len couldn't recognize, but the whole thing instinctively made him uneasy.

Holding the boy's head up with one rough hand on his jaw, Gakupo closed the collar-like ring around Len's neck, and with a snap, it locked shut. Len didn't like that. There hadn't been a lock on that, had there? How would he get it off? Was it even designed to ever come off?

"What am I doing here?" Len asked warily, his hand drifting to the collar locked around his neck.

Gakupo didn't even bother to look at him as he answered. "You'll see for yourself," he said, heading towards the door. "Your work starts tomorrow."

"Work? What am I doing?! Hey!" Len yelled, but the man was gone, as he closed and locked the door behind him. He fell silent for a while, staring at his pale, slender fingers as he sat on the floor. What was going on? What did Gakupo want with him? How did he even know of him? What would he be made to do?

Len bit his lip, then stood up. He supposed it was gracious of him to give him a means to move about; it would make it easier to escape, and the sooner he was out, the better. He had no plans to do whatever it was Gakupo wanted him to do.

He walked over to the door, slowly, not making a sound, and pressed his ear to the door. He listened hard for a good five minutes, but he didn't detect even the slightest sound. No guards outside his door, then. Gakupo probably didn't think he'd be able to even open the door. At least he didn't need to worry about being quiet.

First thing he needed to do was to get rid of this collar, or at least break the chain connecting him to that pole. He felt all around the metal ring, looking for some sort of way to unlock it, like a keyhole, but there was nothing. Was this really meant to never be taken off? Sighing, he pushed the thought aside. He could deal with that once he was out. Instead he inspected the chain. It was old, and pretty rusted in some parts. _How careless_ , Len thought, rather disappointed despite the fact that it could easily be the thing that saves him.

He found one spot on the chain where it was the most rusted—this would be the easiest place to break. He just needed something to break it with. There was no way he be able to by himself, but something else that was stronger and heavier than him... Like the bed? Perfect! The chain wasn't long enough to bring to the bed, so he'd have to pull the bed out from its little corner. Hopefully it wasn't _too_ heavy...

However, as much as he pulled, the bed didn't move even an inch. He looked under the bed, and to his chagrin, he realized the bed was bolted to the floor. Growling in frustration, he stood up, looking around the room again. If the bed was nailed down, likely every other piece of furniture was, too. Of all of them, the bed would be easiest to use.

His mission was four-fold, now: find a way to unbolt the bed, break the chain with said bed, pick the lock, get the hell out of this place... where ever he was. He didn't want to think about that right now. Who knew how far he was from his old (destroyed, Len reminded himself,) home? They'd traveled for at least four hours on Gakupo's boat, Len figured. Where would he go after this? Where _could_ he go?

Don't think about it, he told himself. Not now, at least. He had to escape from here first. The bed was fixed in place by nails, not screws, so he needed a way to pull them up from the wood floor. He already had a pretty good idea for that. He pushed up the mattress on the bed, and there, attached to the metal frame of the bed were the dozens of thin wires shaped as springs. He looked for the two that seemed loosest, and twisted them around, working them back and forth until they snapped right off. He left one on the dresser for now—that one would be for picking the lock—and worked on straightening the other out as much as he could.

Taking the wire, he hooked it around and under one of the nails, wrapping the ends around the palms of his hands so they wouldn't slip, and pulled at it as hard as he could. He put his feet against the leg of the bed to keep from moving, and eventually, the nail finally wiggled free. Len gasped, unwinding the wiring from his burning hands. They were bleeding.

Before he set to work pulling up the rest of the nails, he grabbed the sheet from the bed and tore off two thin, long strips, and carefully wrapped his injured hands. This time, the wires were wrapped around his hands over the pseudo bandages, which hurt a lot less, and with great effort and fifteen minutes of time, he managed to pull up every nail fixing the bed to the floor.

Finally, he dragged the bed out from its spot in the corner of the room, lifting it so one metal leg hovered right over the rusted part of the chain. Hesitating, Len hoped that the noise wouldn't draw any attention. This had seemed like a less occupied area of the mansion, though, so hopefully no one would even be around to hear. With all the strength he had, plus the weight of the bed, he half dropped, half pushed the bed down, letting it smash against the rusty chain.

It didn't break completely, but the damage was clear. A few more hits would break it. He did it again, and again, and with one last try, jumping on the edge of the bed with all his weight, the chain crumbled beneath the leg of the bed. Len pulled the part of the chain that was still attached to his collar. Luckily it wasn't that long, just long enough to drag on the floor when he stood up and walked around, and he could carry it while running.

He grabbed the other spring from the dresser, straightening it out to use to pick the lock. Len walked quietly over to the door, again listening for any signs of people outside his door, and when he was sure there were none, he began twisting the wire around in the keyhole. He didn't really know what he was doing; he'd known a (now dead) boy in his old (destroyed) town who'd been quite skilled at this, but Len had never bothered to ask him how he did it, because Len preferred to live an honest life, and didn't see how a need to pick locks would ever equate into that. But he at least knew it was possible, and if it was possible, Len would figure out how to do it.

It was a lot of blindly twisting the wire, while his ear was pressed to the door, but after a good ten minutes, his fumbling about was rewarded with a click of the lock opening. He sighed, relieved yet still horribly nervous, setting down the wire and picking up the end of the broken chain dragging behind him. Taking a few deep breaths, he slowly opened the door, peering out cautiously.

"Going somewhere?" Len nearly screamed, but instead bit his tongue so hard it bled. Gakupo was standing in the hall, casually leaning against the door across the hall from where Len was, idly inspecting his gun. He looked up at Len with those dark eyes, and Len instinctively slammed the door shut.

"Not so fast," Gakupo said, catching the door with his foot, pushing his way inside. Len backed up, terrified. He'd been _waiting_?! Why?!

Gakupo grinned in a taunting sort of way. "I must say, I'm impressed. You've only been in there for what, fourty-five minutes, and you actually managed to get this far? I see now that Luka was right about you. Not that she could be _wrong_ ," He chuckled, and Len just stared at him with wide eyes, not understanding. "But you've made quite the mess in here, and you should know better than to try to escape, and so as punishment, you're going to start working now, not later."

Before Len could even say anything, Gakupo grabbed the end of the chain connected to Len's collar, dragging him after him like a dog on a leash, while Len stumbled after him, choking every time Gakupo tugged on the chain. Gakupo pulled him out into the hall, to the door at the end, which Gakupo had to unlock in order to enter. Inside was a large room, which was mostly dark aside from some gas lamps, and the whole room was filled with machinery, or something, Len wasn't quite sure. Deeper into the room they ventured, and the more Len saw of it, the more confused he became, and the more fearful.

At the very end, where they stopped, there was an array of metal contraptions, the most noticeable one being shaped like a huge upright rectangle, large enough for a person to stand inside, with a glass door, and a compartment atop it, in which there seemed to be a... creature of some sort. Len didn't know what else to call it. It took on no shape of any living thing Len had ever seen - in fact, it didn't seem to take on any definite form at all, changing and shifting inside it's glass prison above the machine - yet it seemed to be alive, and below the hum of equipment he could faintly hear what sounded like muttering coming from the direction of the thing. It had no eyes, it seemed, or mouth or anything, but it was pure black, like a living shadow, with dark tendrils floating about it. To Len, it almost seemed as if the thing sucked the light out of its surroundings.

"W-what is that thing?" Len asked, pointing at the black creature in the clear container. Though he really didn't want to know, he had a bad feeling he'd find out whether he wanted to or not.

Gakupo grinned at him sinisterly. "If you're curious, why don't you find out?" With that, he shoved the blonde boy into the front of the rectangular contraption below where the monster was trapped, and closed the door, closing the latch. Len yelled at Gakupo for a while, but he stopped when he noticed the muttering he heard before was getting louder. Something between a hiss, a growl and a whisper, and even now that Len could hear it clearly, he couldn't understand a word of it, if it was actually speaking at all. Len looked up, and his heart jumped a little when he realized there were small holes in the top of this container. He could see the blackness through those holes, and to his horror, that blackness began to seep through the holes, thin tendrils of shadows that seemed to change into the shape of hands when they reached Len, grabbing him tightly so he couldn't move. One inky hand covered Len's mouth, and Len wasn't sure what was more alarming: thinking he couldn't breathe, or the fact that the hand seemed to be made of gas when he tried to. Solid, gas, shadow or vapor, Len wasn't sure, but he couldn't think anyway, because whatever that thing was made of made his head swim when he breathed it in, and he quickly slipped unconscious, as his vision was slowly engulfed by the darkness.


	3. Chapter 3

"Oh my god!" Miku cried, shocked. She had taken Rin shopping like she'd promised, and then after dinner, she'd taken Rin to have a bath. However, that was abruptly put on hold when Rin took off her shirt, and Miku noticed the huge gashes running across her back. "What happened?!"

Rin blushed, looking down. In honesty, she'd forgotten about her injuries, since so much had happened, and the pain had been there so long she was mostly used to it. Besides, she couldn't see them, so she had no idea of how bad it looked. "I-I got hurt," she mumbled, though she was sorely aware that was already obvious now.

Rin was standing in the old pair of shorts she'd been found by Mikuo in, without her shirt or the torn strips of cloth she'd used to bandage the wound. Miku, who was still fully dressed, stared at the wound for a while, pursing her lips. She didn't know what to do about this, so she handed Rin a towel quickly. "Here," she said, as Rin took it uncertainly. "Cover yourself with this, but not that wound, understand? Try not to touch it at all."

Rin nodded, holding the towel over her chest, as Miku went to find her father, who was sitting in the garden with Mikuo, playing a card game while they passed the time. "Daddy!"

Both Kaito and Mikuo looked up at her curiously. "What is it?" Kaito asked.

"Rin's hurt! It's really serious, I-I don't know what to do about it," Miku explained, still somewhat shocked about it. "I think you'd better come look at this."

Kaito and Mikuo glanced at each other, and they both got up, coming inside. Kaito followed Miku into the bathroom, when Rin was still sitting on the edge of the tub, biting her cheek and glaring at the ground to hide her embarrassment. Kaito hardly had to look at the wound before he looked up at Miku and said tersely, "Go get the doctor."

Miku nodded, hurrying off. Mikuo, who'd figured it be better to stay outside the bathroom, looked in now, concerned. "How bad is it—oh..." He paled when he saw the wound - three long gashes, all parallel and running diagonally across Rin's back. "Oh my God."

"Rin, how'd this happen?" Kaito asked softly, looking Rin in the eye when she glanced up.

Rin bit her cheek again. "I... We were the only ones left," she said quietly. "So we ran, but we were cornered at the edge of a lake. The Hunter was going to kill us both... so I pushed Len out of the way. I blacked out then, and when I woke up, I was sinking in the middle of the lake. I swam back to shore, but when I got there, Len wasn't. There was no body, no blood—I mean, besides my own."

"Oh... Oh my god. You took that to protect him?" Mikuo asked, amazed.

Rin shrugged. "We're twins, but he was the younger one, and he was always a little weaker than me, so I've always protected him from people that tried to hurt him. He did the same for me in his own way, since he's smarter than I am. We've always looked out for each other."

Kaito smiled. "That was a remarkable thing you did, Rin. You're quite brave."

Rin looked down, and for once, she looked sad. "I know, but... I feel like I must've done something wrong, if Len was still kidnapped anyway... What if it turns out he really is dead, and I'm the one who survived, even though I pushed him out of the way? I feel like that... wouldn't be fair. It makes me wonder if maybe I just saved myself."

"There was no way you could have known what they'd do, Rin," Mikuo said. "You were doing your best to protect him while you could. If you hadn't pushed him out of the way, he would have gotten really badly hurt, like you were, and he could've died right then."

Kaito nodded. "Mikuo's right. You mustn't over think your decisions. You pushed him out of the way to protect him, and regardless of how it turned out, it doesn't make your choice selfish."

Rin was silent for a while, staring at the floor. "...I guess if Len had been thrown, injured, into the lake like I was, he would have been much worse off. He never could swim."

Kaito smiled softly. "Besides, you need to be thinking about the future! You can't anything done when your head is stuck in the past. If you want to find Len, you'd need to first find the Hunters, right? So you got to train hard, and be positive."

Just then, the door swung open, and in walked Miku, followed by a woman in her mid-thirties, with mid-length brown hair, brown eyes, and a mature demeanor. She was the local doctor, whose name was Meiko Sakine. In her hands she carried a medical kit.

"All right, who am I looking at?" She asked, and Kaito showed her the small blonde girl hunched over her towel. "Oh my. Here, come lie down on your stomach. Tell me, how'd this injury come about?"

"I survived an attack from the Hunters!" Rin declared, and the way she said it now made her sound like she was proud of it.

"You're kidding?" Meiko looked at her uncertainly, then glanced up at Kaito as if for some type of confirmation, as she got out her medical supplies. "Really?"

Rin looked at the older woman with a look of absolute assurance. "Really! And next time, it'll be me who strikes!"

The brunette laughed good-naturedly. "You're certainly brave. Well, fiery one, I hope you can bear with me; I'm about to disinfect your wound."

Rin was as tough as they came—instead of crying, she bit Mikuo's hand, and when it was all over, her wound doctored up and bandaged properly, she just rubbed her shoulder and growled under her breath, as Miku handed her a cup of tea. The doctor had bid them farewell, telling them Rin would heal fine, though a scar would likely stay from her injury. Kaito and Mikuo had both gone off to bed in their own rooms, and Miku had let Rin into her own, where they now both sat on the edge of the bed.

"You should rest, now," Miku said, smiling softly. "That wound will take a while before it's fully healed, and you don't want to push it, alright?"

Rin grunted her understanding, lying down in Miku's bed, letting herself relax for a little while. She could work tomorrow, but for now, she pushed away her worries, and fell into a calm, deep sleep.

 **~oOo~**

Meanwhile, deep within the walls of Gakupo's fortress of a home, Len sat, curled up at the corner of his bed, unable to sleep. What had he just... endured? His head throbbed; his body ached with the weight of something he couldn't quite put into words. Whatever that machine—and that _monster_ —had done, it had definitely taken its toll on him. He felt weaker, and exhausted, and though it was over now, his whole body trembled. He couldn't tell whether it was the pitch-black monster within the machine, or if it was just his imagination after what he'd seen, but everything looked... darker. Like the shadowy beast had sucked the light right out of his eyes, and the life out of his body.

He couldn't stay here. He couldn't do that again, let alone regularly. He didn't understand what it was doing, or what Gakupo was trying to accomplish, but it didn't matter. He _needed_ to escape, now more than ever. He didn't care where he went—anywhere would be better than _here_ , with that _thing_.

Shuddering, Len looked around his room. When he'd returned, there were guards standing outside his door. All the furniture had been put back, the bed bolted down this time, the old, rusty chain replaced with a brand new one, and the springs taken out of his bed. Len didn't understand why Gakupo didn't fix this all up before he was thrown in here, if the man knew he'd try to escape. Was he toying with him? Was he really that confident Len wouldn't be able to escape? Was there even a point to trying, then?

 _No,_ Len thought stubbornly, shaking his head. He couldn't just give up. He couldn't afford it.

What time was it? There were no windows in his room. He hadn't seen the sun or sky since he'd been dragged into this mansion, and he got the strangest feeling, as if it had been nighttime for a very long time. And he didn't even know with Gakupo. As far as Len had seen, the man didn't even seem to sleep. Was he even human?

Suddenly, the door to Len's room swung open. Fearing it was Gakupo, Len backed up further into the corner of his bed, as if to hide, but it was not Gakupo who walked through the wooden door. Rather, it was a servant of some kind, a teenage girl with long chocolate brown hair. She was wearing the same sort of collar as Len was, though there was no chain attached to hers, and an outfit like a maid's. In her hands she held a tray, with a plate of food, a fork, knife and a glass.

The girl half-smiled at Len as she peered into his room. "You're the new one, aren't you?"

Len blinked, staring up at her in confusion. "W-what...?"

The servant-girl walked up to Len, setting down the tray of food beside him on the bed. "You're not the only prisoner Gakupo's taken. I'm Kokone, by the way," she said, smiling. Len didn't smile back.

"I'm Len," said he, looking down. "Why are you here?"

Kokone sighed, sitting down. "Gakupo swindled my parents. They didn't have a lot of money, and when they were really in a pinch he showed up, said he could help them out if they just paid them back in time. But he tricked them, and demanded more money than they could produce, and he took me instead. He said he'd return me once they paid off their debt, but every year, he just demands more money..."

Len swallowed hard, staring at the brunette with apprehension. "Then... How long have you been here?"

"...Five years. You look about twelve, right? I was your age when I was first brought here," Kokone said sadly.

Len shuddered, as if he was listening to his own fate. "But... I don't have parents. Everyone I know died right before Gakupo found me."

Kokone shrugged. "Everyone's got a different story here, and you've been treated differently from the others already, anyways. Usually, you'd be doing the same thing as I am now. What does he want you for?"

Len shrugged. "What about that woman I saw in the dungeon? She wasn't doing anything at all. Gakupo just spoke to her."

Kokone shook her head, sighing. "I don't know what she's here for. No one but Gakupo is allowed to speak to her. I know _she's_ treated differently than the others, too, so you've got something in common with her."

Len bit his lip, hugging his knees tightly. "...That lady, she sounded like... She knew me somehow. But I know I've never met her."

"Again, I wouldn't know anything about her," she said, standing up. "You better eat up, okay? Whatever Gakupo's using you for, you don't look well. You better keep up your strength. I'll come back for the dishes later."

"...Thanks," Len said quietly, and the girl was gone, the door locked behind her. Why was she allowed to walk around? Was it because she didn't cause trouble and try to escape like Len had? Or did Gakupo just think she wasn't capable of escaping? Or was he really just toying with Len?

Scrutinizing the tray Kokone had left with him, Len held up the glass of water. This wasn't drugged, was it? Len sighed. As if it even mattered whether it was or not—he'd eat it regardless. He couldn't just _starve_. Nevertheless, he sat on the edge of his bed, staring at his torn-up hands, making sure everything was still functioning, wondering vaguely if he'd be able to tell. He certainly wasn't sleepy—in fact, he had a feeling he wouldn't be able to sleep for a while.

He sat quietly, contemplating his surroundings, what he had on hand, and what he knew, which wasn't much. He didn't even understand why he was here. Even if he managed to break this chain again, where could he go from here? There were no windows, and guards outside the door.

Sighing, Len took a sip of his water. Even as he tried to convince himself of how futile trying to escape was, he scoured his mind for solutions. Well, if the chains weren't rusted, he could always _make_ them rusty, right? Water did that to certain metals, but that would take a long time, if it even worked. Maybe he could find another way...

He wasn't as hungry as he thought he'd be. He tried to eat, stabbing at his food with his knife, but the unease, the dread rolling around in his stomach made him feel near sick when he forced himself to swallow.

His hands stung with pain; his chest and head both felt heavy. He was exhausted, yet when he closed his eyes, he remembered what he saw within the darkness of that pitch-black monster, and he was wide awake again. The very shadows seem to taunt him.

He bit his lip, for the umpteenth time, and his lip tasted bloody. He said nothing when Kokone returned an hour later, still smiling that weak half-smile, and took the tray of half-eaten food away. He didn't know what to say to her, who seemed to be desperately holding onto what little hope she had left, despite having already been here for five years. Len didn't even know if he could last that long like this.

It was a long night. A night that felt like eternity, because here, it always seemed to be nighttime. No sunshine could be seen or felt past the cold walls that he was trapped within.

 **~oOo~**

In the dark early morning within Gakupo's manor, two guards stood in the cold stone and wood hallways, barely alert. One, a nineteen-year-old with black hair, save for the cobalt blue streak running down the side of her bangs, yawned loudly in the chill quiet. Her mismatched eyes, of red and blue, were still foggy with sleep. "God, it's so _early_ …" She groaned, stretching her arms high above her head. "What are we even doing here? This is boring…"

"Be quiet," The other guard said sharply, a man in his thirties with long pinkish-red hair, pulled into a low ponytail that twisted into a spiral at the end. He was wearing a pair of red-rimmed glasses, which he adjusted now. "Our job is to guard the new prisoner. You know that, Ruko."

Ruko sighed, but it might have just been another yawn. "But he's just a kid, right? What's he gonna do, Ted?" She glanced at the door, frowning. "What's the boss want with the kid, anyway?"

"It's none of our business," Ted replied, frowning slightly. "We just have to do our job."

Ruko grimaced, but just yawned and said nothing. After a few minutes, a maid walked down the hall, holding a tray of food. She looked up at the two guards, and smiled politely. "Good morning."

"Here for the prisoner, Kokone?" Ruko asked, pulling out the key from her pocket, and unlocking the door. Kokone nodded her thanks as she pushed open the door, then gasped in surprise when she was pulled in through the door roughly. The crash of the tray echoed through the mostly empty hall as a young boy grabbed the girl with one arm, holding a knife to her throat with the other hand.

A split second after it happened, both the guards were up and facing the boy, but before they could unsheathe their weapons, the boy yelled, "Don't move! If you do, I'll kill her! Move away from your weapons."

The guards froze, staring hard at the boy in shock. Slowly, they raised their hands from their swords, putting their hands up to show they wouldn't attack.

"What do you want?" Ted asked in a low voice, glaring at the blonde child.

Len stared back, trembling slightly despite his harsh words. "The key. Get rid of this stupid chain." He glanced at Ruko. "Leave your weapon there, and unlock it."

Ruko scowled. "Y-you bastard—"

"Do it!" Len yelled, pressing the blade against Kokone's throat. _Just do it,_ he thought silently, desperately. He didn't want to hurt Kokone.

Growling, Ruko dropped her sheathed sword on the ground, then stepped forward, pulling a key from her pocket. His eyes boring into her cautiously, Len kept his grip on Kokone tight, biting his lip to hide his nervousness. Ruko unlocked the chain, and Len backed away from her quickly, edging his way out the door with the chocolate-haired maid in tow. Careful to keep facing both guards, he made his way down the hall, heart racing. Once he was through the door, into the main hall, he released Kokone.

"Sorry," Len said quietly, looking down.

"I-it's alright," Kokone said shakily, looking up, but he was already on the move, down the stairs of the main hall, though he knew the guards would see him. He didn't stop, running down to the hall where he knew there was a back door.

Once he reached the hall, at the end, where the guards stood, they saw him, and seemed to recognize him as a prisoner, and marched towards him to apprehend him. He ran straight forward, which seemed to confuse the guards a bit, but they didn't slow, until Len made a beeline for the open kitchen door and ran inside.

People were bustling around, cooking, cleaning, carrying food around. Stoves were on, pots of water were boiling, but Len didn't stop, running around one counter as the guards chased him through the hazardous obstacle course. Len ran under the arms of a cook working at a stove, and the guards behind him knocked the cook right over, along with his cooking. As the clatter and crashing sounds filled the room, along with the shouts of the guards, a few who had their hands free looked up to help catch Len, but he'd already circled around the counter and was back out the door.

Len ran straight for the now un-guarded door, unlocking it quickly and pushing it open. As he dashed outside, the rising sun blinded him for a moment, the cold air biting at his skin and lungs, but he kept running. The plan was to head out into the woods, then turn to find the road which would take him to town. There was a very distinctive line where the trees started, and he ran towards it.

As soon as he passed the first few trees, though, with a high-pitched crack, a shock of electricity burst from the collar around his neck, coursing through his body and down to his feet. With a scream of pain, Len fell to the ground, shuddering violently as a strange metallic taste filled his mouth. His limbs felt numb and shaky, and he backed up weakly, unable to stand.

"What's wrong?" Came the voice Len dreaded, as Gakupo walked up to him casually, gun strapped to his belt. He was wearing thick, black, rubber gloves. When Len looked up at him, the man grabbed by the neck, lifting him off the ground without any apparent effort. With a cruel grin, Gakupo told him, "I know how badly you want to leave. Why don't you go, then?"

Len said nothing, still shaking with the shock from his collar. His feet weren't even touching the ground, as Gakupo half held him, half choked him.

"Do you need a push, maybe? Here, go on," Gakupo said, holding Len out to the edge of the trees, laughing as the collar shocked him again, holding him so that the shock lasted longer. Len cried out in pain as the electricity tore through his body, unable to think.

Finally, Gakupo pulled him away, still holding him by the neck as he said, "That collar has magical runes engraved into the sides. It'll shock you if you leave my property, and the farther you go, the more it would hurt, until eventually it would kill you. It's designed to never come off. The whole place could be burned to the ground, and you _still_ wouldn't be able to leave. Get it?" He laughed as if he'd made a joke.

Len choked on a sob building up in his throat, barely able to breathe with the hand clamped around his neck. Smirking, Gakupo pushed Len towards the border of his property again, laughing as Len screamed. When the purple-haired man finally stepped away from the border, Len was barely conscious, but he glared at Gakupo bitterly.

"Well, I think you're ready to come back inside, don't you?" Gakupo said nonchalantly, throwing the boy over his shoulder, and carrying him back to his room. When he reached the door to Len's cell, the guards outside looked rather frightened, but Gakupo dismissed their apologies, dropping Len onto the bed. He also dismissed Ruko when she moved to attach the chain to Len's collar again.

"Don't bother," He said, smirking at the boy. "I doubt he needs it now."

Ruko returned to her post outside the door, but before Gakupo could go, Len grabbed his wrist as tightly as he could, trembling from pain and fear, but he glared determinedly nonetheless.

"W-why am I here?" He asked shakily. "I deserve to know at least that much. What are you doing with that—that _monster_?"

Gakupo stared at him coldly, not seeming terribly bothered to respond, but eventually, that cruel grin was back, and he told Len:

"You're helping me create a weapon."


	4. Chapter 4

"Alright, so you want to wield a sword, huh?" Mikuo asked Rin, in an authoritative tone. Rin simply nodded dutifully, fully alert despite it still being early in the morning. "Well, you're gonna start with an axe!"

Rin blinked, then looked up at Mikuo strangely. "What?"

All-business, Mikuo nodded. "That's right! You're gonna chop up firewood! If you can't even do that, you certainly won't be able to fight with a sword! For now, the priority is to build up them muscles!"

Rin almost wanted to complain, but he had a point, so instead, she set her jaw, and marched over to the place in the yard that Mikuo pointed to, where an axe was stuck in a chopping block. Placing both her hands on the handle, she yanked up the axe with a grunt, letting the heavy tool drag on the ground. It was heavy, but Rin didn't let go. If she quit just because it was a little difficult, she'd never accomplish anything.

"Don't hurt yourself," Mikuo said half-jokingly, watching the blonde girl place a large chunk of wood on the chopping block. "You need help?"

Rin huffed loudly, frowning proudly. "I can do it!" She lifted up the axe, with great effort, and swung down, hitting the wood off to the side.

"You need to learn control, too," Mikuo added. "Try and hit it right in the centre."

"Got it," Rin muttered, working on tugging the axe up again. She swung at the wood again, and she hit it on the other side, no closer to the middle; no closer to actu4lly splitting the wood. _Again_ , she ordered herself. With a groan, she pulled out the axe, only to strike at it again.

This one was closer to the centre, but not quite. _Again_. The next one sunk into the chopping block, not the wood she was trying to cut. _Again_. This one hit the wood, no closer though than the first strike. _Again_. She keep chopping away at the surface of the wood, doing it over and over with increasing fatigue.

She was at a disadvantage, she knew, because she was smaller than most. However, that was precisely why she wouldn't give up. She _needed_ to become stronger, so that she could match people who were bigger than her. That's why she kept going, chopping at the wood over and over, even when her muscles burned and her breath came out in ragged pants. She hadn't hit it in the middle even once yet, but she wouldn't stop till the log was split in half.

Mikuo watched her work herself further into exhaustion, with a feeling between concern, amazement, and apprehension. Didn't she feel tired? "Hey, don't you think you should take a break?"

Rin stopped only to shake her head slowly, then she was hacking away at the wood. "...I haven't split it yet."

"I don't really expect you get that much done the first time," Mikuo said, raising an eyebrow. "And you've been working hard at this for a half an hour straight. You'll tear a muscle if you work _too_ hard."

"I'm fine," Rin replied, still repeating what had become a routine: lift, swing, pull out, repeat. Keep repeating until the log was _split_. She _would_ see this out to the end.

Mikuo grabbed her arm, taking the axe without any effort. "No, you're not. You're not just gonna chop wood all day."

Rin scowled at him, but he could see how tired she felt. She rubbed her right arm tenderly, which ached from the work most. "I could've kept going."

"You could've," Mikuo agreed, "But you're not allowed. We'll pick up later in the day, understand?" Rin pouted, but Mikuo just took the axe, sinking it into the chopping block with one easy swing, and lead Rin into the house. "Don't think this means your work is over, though. Dad's going to look into getting you a job to pay for your keep and the sword he promised you, and you're gonna help Miku with the cooking and cleaning. Okay?"

"Yeah!" Rin replied, pumped again. She just wanted to work, at whatever it may be. If she wasn't working, she felt like she was wasting time, and a little voice in the back of her head nagged at her that her brother likely wasn't just waiting around for her; he could be—was probably—in real danger.

In Mikuo's opinion, though, there was something worrying about how singularly determined she was to carry out her self-appointed mission. He'd known of having a one-track mind, but if she shrugged off her own exhaustion or pain like that just to try and reach her goal faster, she'd quickly work herself into a serious injury, or an early grave. He understood she was worried, but she'd be no used to Len dead. Maybe he could teach her to not do everything with such a one-track mind...

"Mikuo, what's next?" Rin asked, looking up at Mikuo expectantly.

"Laundry," Mikuo replied. Rin scrunched up her nose, and Mikuo said, "Come on, don't complain. Chores was part of the deal for staying. Now grab that bucket and the wash board. I'll get the laundry, you fill that thing with hot water. Don't drag it! You'll spill the water!"

Rin readily obliged, carrying the bucket of hot water out to the yard. The clothes were dropped in a pile at her feet, and she quickly got to work. Mikuo took any clothes she washed and hung them up to dry.

"Did you ever do this with your family, Rin?" Mikuo asked, watching the girl go at the laundry like she was attacking it.

Rin glanced up at him, saying, "Well, yeah. I always had the wash the clothes, and he had to wash the dishes."

"He? You mean Len?" Mikuo asked, and the blonde girl nodded. "You're twins, right? Did you look alike?"

Rin shrugged. "I guess. We both have blonde hair and blue eyes. Everyone always said we looked exactly alike. Sometimes people mixed us up for each other, but we could always tell the difference."

"Differences like?" Mikuo prompted.

"Len's hair is messier than mine. It's kind of spikey," Rin said, wringing out a shirt. "He's kind of a dork, too, always spewing random things he learned from here or there like a know-it-all, but he was nicer than that. He gave me this." She pointed to the white ribbon tied into her hair, which up to this point, Mikuo hadn't really paid much mind to, but now that he looked, he noticed that despite the ragged condition he'd found the girl in, the ribbon was still perfectly fine.

Mikuo raised an eyebrow. "Were you wearing that when I met you?"

Rin shook her head. "I was hiding it in my clothes so it wouldn't get wrecked when the Hunters attacked. Len got it for my birthday a few years ago."

"He sounds nice," Mikuo said.

Rin paused, then shrugged. "Eh. He was nice to me, but he doesn't do well with strangers. When he gets nervous he gets really crass and sarcastic, and he can be a little mean even. For a long time, he even kept his distance from Mom and Dad."

Mikuo looked at Rin with confusion. "Why?"

Scrubbing at a pair of pants, Rin said, "We're adopted. We _were_ adopted," she corrected herself. "We never knew our real parents, but when we were six, the people I call Mom and Dad adopted us. I was happy to have a home, but Len... He was always a little skeptical. He never said it, but I think he was scared they'd get rid of us as soon as it stopped being convenient to have us. It took a long time for Len to trust them."

"You don't know anything about your birth parents? Would the people from the orphanage had known?"

Rin shook her head. "They never saw our parents either. Left on the doorstep, didn't even bother to ring the doorbell. It never really bothered me, though. No use getting all worked up over people I never knew. Besides, I have more important things to worry about." Rin handed Mikuo the last cleaned article of clothing, standing up in triumph. "What's next? Give me more to do!"

Mikuo sighed softly, smiling. "Empty out the bucket and clean it, then Miku wants you to come with her to the market. Can you do that?"

Rin grinned. "Of course!"

 **~oOo~**

"You really want to do this again?" Mikuo asked flatly, already knowing the blonde girl's response.

"Of course! I have to keep practicing until I'm strong enough!" Rin replied, dutifully picking up the axe. She'd been working on this at least twice a day for over a week, and though she hadn't split it yet, she was getting better. Mikuo still worried she was pushing herself too hard, but at this point, there was no way she would do any less.

"Don't your arms feel sore? You've been doing this all week," Mikuo asked, sighing. He was sitting backwards on a garden chair, leaning on the back with his elbows.

Rin scoffed. "If my muscles hurt from a little wood cutting, then it means I'm not strong enough yet, so I should work harder until I _am_ strong enough." She lifted up the axe and cut into the wood. The log's surface was totally covered in indentations from being chopped at so many times, so at this point, it was practically impossible to _not_ hit somewhere she already had. However, one could see that Rin was hitting more in the centre as she gradually improved, as more was cut away from the general middle area. And as she got stronger, her swings became more powerful. She was not yet strong enough to cut through, but she was getting closer.

Mikuo raised an eyebrow skeptically. "What will you do when you can swing the axe around with no effort, then?"

Rin looked up at him as if the answer should be obvious. "Then I'll practice with something heavier! I'm training to get strong so I can use a _sword_ , remember?"

"Of course not," Mikuo responded, furrowing his brow. "But doesn't that seem like a sort of endless goal?"

"It _ends_ when I find out what's become of Len," Rin retorted. "I won't have any need to fight, then."

"If you say so..."

"I do!" Rin replied, and with one final swing, the log toppled to the grass in two hacked-up, nearly equal pieces. She grinned at Mikuo triumphantly, and said, "Well? Hand me another one!"

 **~oOo~**

Len didn't know how long he'd been trapped in Gakupo mansion for. All he knew what the number of times that black demon of a shadow had latched onto him, and submerged him into a world. He'd been pushed inside that machine at least fifteen times, he figured. He was still fairly certain, but the edges of his mind felt just a little fuzzy, an effect, he suspected, of the shadow monster.

What it was like, connected to that monster, was difficult to describe. Part of that was because it was a strange feeling, unlike any other, but part of that was simply because Len didn't like to think about it. He wasn't asleep; he had the vague impression of seeing things in there, flashes of terrifying scenes, though he could never quite piece the images together. It was like waking from a nightmare, and instantly forgetting what had happened. But as it was a repeating nightmare, every time he went back, he remembered more, and the more he saw, the darker that world became.

At first it was black. Pitch black, just like the shadow creature itself. Just the endless abyss, the quiet terror, and one small child in the centre of it all. He could hear murmurs all around him, the strange whispers of the beast that he'd heard before, but here, it was no whisper. Voices as clear as if they were all around him, but he was alone still.

He couldn't remember what they said, but it didn't matter, because the tone was enough to scare him. They echoed in his ears, some a breezy hush; others a demanding bellow; more still a raspy whine. All of them, repeating something, over and over.

Len opened this mouth to speak back, but suddenly his throat tightened—an invisible object, wrapped around his neck. He couldn't breathe, let alone speak. The voices sounded distinctly angry, now. They spoke faster, louder, like they were getting impatient. His throat burned, his head felt blurry and the pain seemed to build most in the space behind his eyes.

He tried to pry away the thing strangling him, but he found nothing with his hands. He felt the pressure tighten around his neck, but to his hands, there was nothing there. The voices where all yelling at him, hollering right in his ears, making his head pound. Light-headed and confused, his vision slowly turned red.

 _Plip._ A warm, dark liquid dripped onto his cheek. When he wiped it with his hand, he saw it was a deep maroon colour, like blood. Then the coppery smell hit his nose, and he realized it _was_ blood.

And suddenly the whole world was red. He fell, the invisible force choking him slipping away, and he found himself on the blood-red ground. The voices were screaming, and there were no words anymore. They were simply screeching at him mindlessly, perpetually. When he looked down at his hands, they were dripping red.

Then the multitude of inhuman shrieks morphed into the screams of but one individual. It was a voice Len would have recognized anywhere, ever here, screaming so wretchedly. _Rin,_ he thought, though his voice still refused to work. What was she doing here?!

He thought the voice sounded like it was coming from his general right, so he tried to stand and move towards her voice, but he could not. Something was grabbing his arm, and when he looked down, this time it wasn't invisible. It was a hand of pure black—the shadow monster. It gripped his forearm painfully tight, and then there was one around his ankle. Then another hand grabbed his hair, and then more and more reached out of the red to drag Len into it. As they pulled him down, the ground became sea; a sea of blood, and Len was quickly drowning in it. It was there that the real nightmare began.

The shadows were clawing at him, tearing away at his skin, pulling him, crushing him, and burning him all at once. He tried to scream, but then his tongue was torn from his mouth, and then he was choking on his own blood. The voices were back, screeching again as they tore at the blonde boy's chest. His arms felt like they were ready to be ripped off, and his whole body was a bloody mess. Then, a bloody black hand ripped into his chest, and his heart stopped and his ears rang, and the voices and the pain and the fear all blurred into one—

And then it stopped, in a single moment. And then everything was pitch black again; nothing but the endless abyss, the quiet terror, and one shaking, sobbing child, alone in it all.


	5. Chapter 5

When Gakupo pulled Len from the machine, he did not stir. It took at least five minutes for the boy to wake from the dark world he'd been sucked into. When he finally opened his eyes, his whole body trembled. He looked down at his hands, and there was no sign of harm, but he could still remember pain, and he didn't feel much better now. Had it been a dream?

However, he felt weaker, and sort of... hollow. The pain here was real, not just a memory from what he'd seen. His chest still ached, like something had been ripped out of him.

Gakupo grabbed Len's wrist, dragging the still half-dazed boy back through the dark hallways to his room. Had it always been this dark? He knew most halls were lit only with candles, but even so, the light was so much dimmer than he remembered it being. Maybe this was the effect of spending so long without seeing sunlight?

"...Hey," Len said, his voice heavy. "How many times are you going to use that thing on me?"

"As many times as I see fit," Gakupo replied. There was no glee in his words, but there certainly wasn't any remorse, either.

Len bit his lip, looking around. They were almost back. "What is it doing to me?" He asked, voice slipping a little. It scared him to think about it. The hand that wasn't being gripped by Gakupo's reached up to his chest, stabbing with pain.

Gakupo grinned. "I thought I told you what I was doing already."

Len narrowed his eyes. "What does _that_ thing have to do with weapons?"

"You're clever," Gakupo responded, pushing open Len's room door. He shoved Len inside, finally relinquishing his grip on him. "I'm sure you could think of that yourself." And with that he was gone, door closed in Len's face and locked.

Len grit his teeth. God, he hated this place. He needed to figure out a way out of here, but he barely had the energy to stand. He needed to figure out what Gakupo was plotting, but his head burned with pain. He sat down on his bed, staring silently at the wall, lost in thought.

A weapon? Gakupo was using him to make a weapon? How? What could Len do? What did that shadow thing have to do with it? And most important of all—what was Gakupo planning to use that weapon _for?_

Len shuddered. He didn't want people to get hurt, especially not because of him. Since he was stuck here, he might as well focus on finding a way to stop Gakupo, if he could. Gakupo seemed to know everything that went on; how could he do anything without getting caught first? And trying to break out of this room was getting painful. Who knew what Gakupo would do if he expressly tried to get in his way?

Len sighed. His eyes were sliding closed on their own; he couldn't stay awake now. He lied down, yet even then, he worried to the last moment of consciousness. In that last second, as Len slowly closed his eyes finally, he swore he could see the shadows grow and stretch towards him.

 **~oOo~**

It was early morning, the air still fresh and dew clinging to the grass. Autumn had begun to set in, and the air smelled sharp and crisp as Rin slipped on her boots, and after a moment's consideration, a jacket as well. She stepped into the back yard eagerly, followed by a less enthusiastic Mikuo, who yawned loudly. He'd literally just got out of bed, and had just thrown on a large sweater over his clothes, and wasn't even wearing shoes or socks as he walked out onto the damp grass.

"Do we have to do this now...?" Mikuo asked sleepily. Rin frowned stubbornly at him.

"Yes, we do. _You_ said you teach me how to fight, and you promised to do that once I could split twenty pieces of wood in a row last month. And now I can, so now you have to."

Mikuo sighed, blinking slowly. "Fine... Then let's fight."

Rin blinked. "We're fighting each other?"

Rolling his head, Mikuo said, "Well, duh. What did you expect, that I'd have you attack a tree?"

Rin blushed, frowning more. "N-no! Of course not! Let's just get started, okay?"

Mikuo looked at the blonde girl through half-open eyes. "The enemy will never go easy on you, so don't think I will, either. You better be ready."

Rin looked at the tealette skeptically. He was still slumped over, rubbing an eye with one hand. "Are _you_ ready...?" Mikuo waved his hand in a lazy, dismissive manner.

"Of course, of..." He yawned slowly. "...Course. You can have the first strike. Whenever you're ready."

Rin raised an eyebrow, but she nodded anyway, curling her hands up into fists. She felt a little bad about it, but she approached the older teen, pulled back her arm and punched at his chest.

Quickly, Mikuo stepped to the side, leaned forward, and elbowed Rin in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her, and knocking her to the ground. She stared up at Mikuo in surprise. "How'd you do that?"

Mikuo shrugged, not really seeming to care to answer. "Listen, when you make a fist, keep your thumb on the outside. If you curl your fingers around your thumb and punch someone at full strength, if you land the hit, you could break your thumb, or at least hurt it pretty bad."

"O-oh," Rin mumbled, looking down at her hands. She hadn't really been paying attention to her fists.

"And I know I said you could have the first hit, but don't just inch up to me so slowly. Be quicker about it, or it'll be easy as hell to predict what you'll do. Got it?" Mikuo reached his hand out to Rin, and she took the hand, mumbling "Thanks" as he helped her up.

"You ready to try again? Same as before, you move first," Mikuo said, standing in wait, still as nonchalant as before. "Word of advice: try to keep moving. If you stay still or are too slow you'll get knocked down, so as long as you're on your feet, keep moving."

Rin nodded. _Okay, keep moving_ , she thought, repeating it in her mind a few times. Then, she dashed forwards, punching Mikuo.

"Use your whole upper body when punching, not just your arm," Mikuo said, blocking the punch with his arm, then grabbing her wrist and twisting it back as he took one quick step behind her. _Keep moving,_ she thought, twisting her body around, ripping her arm from his grasp and kneeing Mikuo in the side quickly.

She landed the hit, but she used to much momentum and was caught off-balance, and with a swift jab to the shoulder, Mikuo knocked her over. "Use your whole body when fighting, but at the same time, maintain your balance," He said, helping Rin up again. "The only thing worse than being knocked down by your enemy is being knocked down by yourself. Keep your weight in your feet, or in the case of kicking, the grounded foot. And _keep moving_. You can't just punch someone and stop, and kick from the same place. Move into the attack, and then attack from there. Good fighting is fluid, remember that."

Rin nodded quickly. This was more complicated than she'd anticipated.

Mikuo looked down at Rin's feet. "Furthermore, keep your feet apart, and your centre of gravity low." He dropped suddenly, turning quickly and kicking the girl's feet out from under her, and she fell back down again. "Otherwise that's what'll happen."

Rin frowned up at Mikuo, pouting a little. "What happened to I hit first...?" She grumbled, getting to her feet.

Mikuo smiled. "But that's not very realistic, is it?"

Rin scowled unhappily, then kicked Mikuo in the shin without warning, punched him in the face. He fell forward suddenly, avoiding the punch, rolling behind Rin and jabbing her in the back of her knee. She yelped in surprise, and Mikuo stood up, grabbed Rin's shoulder, pinching the place between her shoulder and neck, and pushing her to the ground.

Rin growled as she rubbed her neck, then looked up at Mikuo suspiciously. "How'd you do that?"

Mikuo grinned. "Pressure points. Stand up; I'll teach you a few." Rin got up warily, and Mikuo grabbed her arm. He held right behind her elbow, pressing his thumb to a spot inside her arm. "Here, where my thumb is now, is a pressure point."

Rin frowned at him skeptically. "I don't feel anything." In response, Mikuo pressed his thumb in, hard, and Rin let out a small yelp with she hid behind grit teeth. "...Right, carry on."

"You can do what I just did, or you can punch it," Mikuo said. He crouched down, holding a hand to her leg a little above her knee. "Also, same for here. Good for kicking. Plus your neck, as you know, behind you knees, behind and a little above your ankle. Actually, the back of your legs is pretty sensitive as a whole. And your actual back, too, of course." He poked Rin sharply in the back a bit below where her ribs were on the left side. "It's always a good idea to try and keep your enemy in front of you."

Rin rubbed her back, scowling, and Mikuo walked around to stand in front of her. "...That's a lot of points," she mumbled. Mikuo laughed.

"Actually, there's way more than that. There's over three hundred pressure points on the body, but I'm not teaching you them all, because some are more dangerous than others. If you hit someone in the wrong place, you can kill them, so be careful."

Rin nearly choked on her breath. "You can _kill_ someone with these?!"

"Not the ones I showed you," Mikuo assured him. "But be careful with the neck, always. The place you should be grabbing is between the neck and shoulder. Don't ever hit someone in the neck, or the temple. If you try to punch someone in the face, aim for the cheek or the nose. And if you hit someone in the back, go for one side or the other. Don't hit them in the spine. Got it?"

Rin nodded hesitantly, suddenly a little nervous. She didn't want to seriously hurt Mikuo, so she made sure to think over everything he'd said. No hits to the neck or temples or spine. Have to be careful...

A dull pain hit her forehead, and she looked up at Mikuo, who'd just flicked her. "Do you want to stop now or something?"

Rin shook her head quickly. "No, I can still fight more!"

Mikuo hummed quietly. "Alright. But don't worry about the pressure points. Just use the ones I taught you, and it won't be a problem. You can't kill someone by punching them in the arm."

"Right," Rin responded, getting ready to fight again. _Thumbs out, stance wide. Keep your weight in the ground, and_ keep moving, _always._

Mikuo looked at the blonde girl thoughtfully and said, "From now on, if you take too long I won't wait for you; I'll strike first if you're not prepared."

Rin nodded quickly, and just as quickly, Mikuo sprung forward, jabbing his thumb into the right side of her stomach, above the hip. Pain shot through the place he'd hit her, and she flinched a little. He made a move to get behind her, but she spun around quickly.

She ducked as he struck at her chest, and as she rose back up she brought her knee with her, aiming for the inside of his leg, right above his knee, just like he'd taught her. But she jumped up very quickly, and she looked up at Mikuo to make sure he wasn't getting ready to strike back, instead of looking where she should have been, which was where she was kneeing, and she ended hitting in the groin instead of the leg.

Immediately, both parties' eyes went wide, and with a slow cry of pain, Mikuo fell to the ground.

"O-oh my god. Are you okay?" Rin asked, feeling rather guilty and a little panicked from all the adrenaline.

"Noooo..." Mikuo groaned, rolling over on the grass. "I said the _leg,_ Rin... The _leg_..."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."

Mikuo looked up at the girl, grimacing in pain. "Can we _please_ take a break now?"

"O-okay..." Rin mumbled, reaching out to help Mikuo up. As the tealette got to his feet, his blue-haired father poked his head out the window.

"What going on out here?" Kaito asked curiously, seeming slightly concerned.

Rin laughed nervously. "Oh, just, you know. Training."

Kaito nodded, looking at Mikuo. "How's she doing so far?"

"Well, she'd be better if she just _learned how to aim_ ," Mikuo replied through a clenched jaw, looking pointedly at Rin.

"I said I'm sorry, okay?"

Kaito raised an eyebrow. "Well, you two must be hungry by now. Come in; me and Miku were just making breakfast."

The two agreed, and made their way inside. Mikuo looked over at Rin, and eventually said, " Honestly though, you were doing okay back there. You might have got me down even if you _hadn't_ kneed me in the nuts."

Rin looked over at him in alarm. "Just okay?!"

Mikuo shrugged. "You did well for your first day, but you're not perfect. It takes time to develop skill."

Rin grumbled. "I guess that's true..."

"Also, you still have to cut some firewood as part of your chores. Don't think you're getting out of that just because you've started training."

"What?!" Rin scowled, then sighed. "Fine..."

"Cheer up, Rin! You're making so much progress!" Miku said airily, as she handed Rin her breakfast. "And once you've mastered hand-to-hand, you get to learn how to use a sword, right?"

"Yeah," Mikuo agreed. "You've only been here for, what? Two months? Since you mastered the art of the lumberjack so quickly, it means you've got plenty of time to train."

Rin smiled. "That's true! Heck, by the time I get that sword, I'll be the best!"

"That's the spirit," Kaito said, smiling. "Now eat up, okay? I found you a proper job, so today you're going to start, okay?"

Grinning, Rin nodded. Even if she had so much to learn, she was closer already, she could feel it. She was that much closer to finding her brother.


	6. Chapter 6

Len was stuck. He needed to find a way out of his room, but what could he do? He'd already picked the lock; he'd already ran from the guards; they wouldn't fall for the same trick twice. He was running out of options fast, and the situation was looking increasingly bleak.

If he made it out, where could he go? He wanted to stop Gakupo, and he wanted to find out what this weapon was, but he wouldn't even know where to start. If he _did_ escape, he'd certainly be punished, and the only thing that awaited Len outside Gakupo's mansion was a painful death, thanks to the collar fastened around his neck.

Len sighed, sitting at the edge of his bed with his head down. He needed more information. Without a plan, there wasn't anything he could do, but he could plan nothing if he knew nothing.

Len blinked, staring at the ground, and it seemed as if the shadows were moving beneath his feet. He rubbed his eyes quickly, frustrated. This was happening more often lately, and he didn't like it. He saw shadows in places they shouldn't have existed; and at night his dreams brought him back to that dark place, full of blackness and screaming voices, the world he'd seen countless times within the shadow of a nameless black monster. It was as if a part of the creature followed him beyond the contains of the machine.

The shadows continued to waver at his feet, seeming to stretch out to the other side of the room. His room was always pretty dark, even with a candle or two, but somehow these shadows seemed different. It was probably only his imagination, but the shadows seemed to all seep from one corner of the room.

Curiously, he approached the shadows, pushing out the dresser which was placed in the corner. In that corner, the wall seemed almost painted with such hazy blackness. When he touched the wall, though, it felt like a normal wall, so what was with the shadows?

He heard voices outside his door, and he replaced the dresser quickly, sitting back down on his bed as he'd been seated before. In walked Kokone, holding a tray of food for him. She seemed busy, so she didn't say much before she hurried off, leaving the tray beside him on the bed. When she was gone, Len glanced at his food, and instead of eating, he took the knife, walking over to the dark corner of his room. He once again pushed aside the dresser, felt the wall hesitantly, then struck it as hard as he could with the knife.

The wall crumbled away as Len struck it, and Len could only assume it was thinner here. He knock away as much of the wall as he could, until he had a hole just big enough to crawl through. Where did it lead, though?

Len bit his lip, debating whether to investigate. It was pitch black, and dirty, and who knew what it held, but he needed _something_. The idea that maybe there was nothing he could do; the thought that there was no escaping this place was terrifying to Len, even more terrifying than Gakupo himself.

Before anything, Len moved the dresser to a position that Len could just slip past it to reach the hole, but to anyone else looking, they would not be able to notice the hole in the wall. Then, Len grit his teeth, and crawled into the hole, placing his hands in front of him so he could feel his way. There was stone beneath his fingers, and it felt like a sort of tunnel. Confused, Len inched forward, leaving behind his room for now. He felt above his head, and he felt only air, so he stood up carefully. Almost immediately, the tunnel began to curve, and the ground beneath him dropped down slightly. _Stairs?_ Len continued, one hand on the wall to keep from stumbling.

It was totally dark, though strangely, it wasn't that hard for Len to navigate. It wasn't long before his hand brushed over a hard wood surface, and Len turned to face what he assumed was a door. It must have been pretty tightly fitted, since not even a sliver of light shone through. Len felt further along the floor, and it seemed that the stairs still continued.

There was still further to go, but he wanted to see where this opened up to, so carefully, he pushed on the wood, and it swung open with a creak, and he emerged into a small room, lined with shelves of cans and jars. A pantry, it seemed.

He'd come out between two shelves, and quickly, he replaced the wall, which from this side, showed no sign of being a door. It likely was only meant to be opened from the inside. He guessed this meant he'd end up being tracked down by Gakupo inevitably.

Cautiously, he walked through the pantry towards the door, and for the second time, found himself in the kitchen. It was just as busy as before, and no one seemed to notice him with no one chasing him. He worried for a moment his collar would give him away, but as he looked around, his saw at least half a dozen others who also had collars, so he relaxed.

"Hey you, boy! What do you think you're doing here?!" A loud, female voice demanded, and Len turned around quickly, afraid he'd been caught already. A woman with short green hair and eyes looked at him fiercely, an apron tied over her clothes and her foot tapping impatiently. "What do you think you're doing, just standing around? Get to work, get to work!"

Len blanched, eyes wide. "I—I don't know what—"

The woman sighed, waving her hands for dramatic effect. "Add the carrots to the stew, you fool! Hurry up; the Master's food isn't going to cook itself!" Len quickly realized this "Master" was almost definitely Gakupo.

She herded Len over to a counter, where a pile of whole, unpeeled carrots lay beside a boiling pot. She prodded him in the side, saying once again to get to work, and then she was off to do her own thing, though wherever she went, Len could still hear her yelling at someone.

Len stared at the carrots, not entirely sure what to do with them. _She'd said, just.. add them to the soup, right?_ He thought hesitantly, picking a single carrot up. He glanced around him, but everyone was busy with their own task, and no one even glanced at him. He dropped the carrot into the soup, curious as to why there was a whole job for something so simple.

He put the other three carrots into the pot, then looked around. Above him, there was a cupboard, and he opened it quietly, to find it chock full of spices, most of which he didn't recognize. He grabbed a few, smelling them, and took the three that smelled the worst, and promptly dumped their entire contents into the large pot. He hadn't forgotten for a moment that Gakupo was the one who'd be eating this.

Then, trying not to be noticed, he slipped out into the hallway, the sound of the green-haired woman yelling fading away. The guards waiting by the door at the end of the hall were different now, and they didn't seem to recognize Len, so quickly he made his way down the hall, taking a left and finding the stairs he knew led to the dungeon. Since he was here, there was someone he wanted to speak to.

The dungeon was as empty as the first time he saw it, and just as creepy. He clasped his hands together, nervous, walking up to the last cell on the right. He had no way to open the cell, but he didn't need to. He just wanted to talk.

Before he could speak, a voice called, very clearly, "I believe you'd like to speak with me, Len."

Len sucked in his breath, standing before the metal door. "...How do you know my name?" He eventually asked.

"I know many things," was the cryptic reply he got.

"What kind of things?" Len asked, curious, but also somewhat suspicious.

"I know you've been creeping around in secret tunnels that not even Gakupo knows about," The woman's voice said, soft yet clear, and deeply thoughtful. "Of course, this mansion was not originally his, so there are still a few things he has not discovered."

Len leaned towards the door, peering through the tiny space in the door. It was dark, but he thought he could see the vague outline of the woman he saw before. "Who are you?" He asked.

"My name is Luka," She replied.

"Do you know me? When Gakupo first brought me here—"

"I do not know you personally," Luka said softly. "But unfortunately I have had a part in bringing you here."

Len frowned. "What do you mean?"

"For years, I've been Gakupo's prisoner," She began carefully. "I was cursed, a long time ago, to never speak a lie. Gakupo has used that to his advantage many times, and this was one of those times. I told him how to find you."

"...W-why? Why does he want me?" Len asked, shivering.

"Gakupo is making a weapon, one unlike the weapons anyone's ever seen before, more powerful than even a gun. However, it is... complicated to make. He first had to trap that shadowy creature you've come in contact with; it is known as Nightshade. That creature feeds on the spirit energy of humans, which he needed to harvest for the weapon. The Nightshade renders it into a more tangible form, which he can use to power his weapon. Theoretically, he could use anyone, but if an ordinary person was completely swallowed by the Nightshade like you've been, they'd certainly die."

Len bit his lip. "Am I different, then?"

From what he could see, it looked like she nodded. "Indeed," said Luka solemnly. "Because you're not entirely human."

Len's eyes went wide. "W-what do you mean?"

"You know you and your sister are orphans, yes?" Len nodded. "Your father was a human, but your mother was a sylph. Sylphs are air spirits, and your mother's body couldn't handle birthing you and your sister. She passed away soon after you two were born, but you have part of her spirit, and her magic. It's because of that, that the Nightshade hasn't killed you yet. It's her energy that's keeping you alive, and that's why Gakupo needed you. He has gotten away with many terrible things, if he started kidnapping and killing hundreds of people to fuel his plan, the people would surely rise up to stop him before he could finish.

"Gakupo came to me, asking if there was any way to get his hands on a power source that wouldn't die right away, and with my far-reaching vision, I found you. I saw the day your town was destroyed, and I saw your sister thrown into the lake, and you were about to die. So I told Gakupo, and he found you, and brought you back here. And now you are here," She finished. She sounded just a little sad. "I'm sorry. I see that staying here has hurt you in many ways, but I cannot say anything but the truth."

Len wanted to say something, but his voice seemed caught in his chest. That was a lot to digest. He'd wondered, for a long time, who his real parents were, but never had he imagined _this_. "...Luka... What will Gakupo do, once he has this weapon?"

"Undoubtedly use it to establish himself above all others. Anyone who does not do exactly as he commands will be slaughtered, and I can foresee him killing many with this weapon. With this, he could potentially make the whole world his slave."

Len shuddered, looking down. "Is there... anyway to stop him?"

"Not yet," Luka said simply. "Do not blame yourself for what he makes with your soul, Len. You are his tool, not his accomplice; this is not your choice, and not your fault."

Len bit his lip. "...Thank you, Luka."

"There is no need for thanks," Luka replied soberly, "I fear my words may weigh on you even more."

Suddenly, the door at the end of the dark hallway flew open, and Len looked up to see Gakupo, frowning irately.

"So there you are," He muttered, walking up to Len swiftly, grabbing the boy by the collar of his shirt before he could back away. "You're quite the troublesome brat." Gakupo looked over at Luka's cell door. "What have you told him, Luka?"

"Of why he's here, and what you're planning," Luka replied immediately. "Nothing that could possibly get in the way of your plans, though."

Gakupo scowled, first at Luka, then at Len. "Come with me, brat," he said sharply, tugging on Len's shirt and dragging him out of the dungeon. Keeping a firm grip on Len's collar, Gakupo marched back up to Len's room, shoving Len through the door roughly. Where normally, he would have just given Len a smug look and left, though, this time, he stepped inside Len's room, rummaging in his pocket for something.

"You're becoming quite the nuisance..." Gakupo muttered. "You seem to be forgetting your position." Len gulped, eyes fixed on Gakupo fearfully, and the purple-haired man pulled out a box of matches. He took a single match, struck it against the rough edge of the box, and a small flame sprung to life. When Len caught sight of the flame, a small spike of fear immediately struck his chest. "But that's nothing a little discipline can't fix."

* * *

 **A/N: This isn't really important to the story, but while I was working on this chapter, I was discussing Rin and Len's parentage to a friend, and we made this joke about their mother being a unicorn and their father being... Bill Cipher. Our laughter, it will never cease.**


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